Multiple valve module

ABSTRACT

A multiple valve module is provided by which a given supply fluid may be selectively distributed to any of a group of stations to be supplied, or any of a group of supply fluids may be selectively fed to a given station. The module includes a manifold having an exterior valve mounting surface through which a series of spaced flow ports open, valve means separately mounted at each of a selected plurality of the flow ports, a blocking element separately mounted at any flow port not occupied by valve means and means for connecting the manifold in a flow line or optionally in tandem with another module.

r United States Patent [1 1 11 11 3,709,248 Aurich et al. [4 1 Jan. 9,1973 s41 MULTIPLE VALVE MODULE 1,472,265 10/1923 Bell ..137 608 [75]Inventors: Christoph W. Aurich, Clemson; John (2 Bryant Fort Mill bothof 3,566,917 3/1971 White ..137/608 James y, Stanley, 3,572,366 3/1971Wiggins ..l37/608 x 73 Asi :Gston Coat 01 Mhi 1 S gnee czmpany s ac nePrimary Examiner-Robert G. Nilson I Attorney-Channing L. Richards,Dalbert U. Shefte, [22] Filed: Feb. 26, 1971 Francis M. Pinckney andRichards & Shefte 21 A l.N.:l19l 1 l 1 pp 9 9 57 ABSTRACT A multiplevalve module is provided by which a given [52] U.S. Cl. ..137/27l,137/597, 12357171285, Supply fluid may be Selectively distributed to anyof a I [51] Int Cl F16 19/00 group of stations to be supplied, or any ofa group of supply fluids may be selectively fed to a given Station [58]meld of Search 'T 4'2 gg g The module includes a manifold having anexterior I valve mounting surface through which a series of spaced flowports open, valve means separately [56] References Cited mounted at eachof a selected plurality of the flow UNITED STATES PATENTS ports, ablocking element separately mounted at any 1 flow port not occupied byvalve means and means for 5,292,961 2/1952 Andrus ..l37/608 connectingthe manifold in a flow line or optionally in ,638 "970 PlggOlt ..l37/608X tandem with angthe module 3,481,310 12/1969 Alburger ..25l/l45 X3,117,587 1/1964 Willinger ..137/454.2 X 2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures .10MULTIPLE VALVE 12 MODULE 3 if" a WATER 50 1:2014 5 E uNz BRANCH LINESPmimmm 9l975 3.?09248 SHEET 1 BF 2 10 MULTIPLE VALVE FLOW 7 MODULE METERBRANCH LlNES 36 24 Y iii INVENTORS JOHN C-BRYANT Er BY J'Amcs R. R\LEYcums-torn w. aumcu,

PATENTEDJAN 9:975 3,709,2

sum 2 [IF 2 4 INVENTORS CHRISTOPH W..AURICH, J'OHN c. BRYANT, BY JAMESR. RiLEY ATTORNEYS MULTIPLE VALVE MODULE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONWhere selective branching of fluid flow is needed, some arrangement ofdirectional control valving must be employed. If considerable branchingselection is required and automatic control of the selection is desired,so-called turret valves have heretofore commonly been employed toprovide the selective directional control. But such valves are quitecomplicated in form and characteristically leak to such an extent thatcheck valves must ordinarily be employed in addition to obtain apositive shut-off. Also, such valves are not adaptable to tandemarrangement.

The present invention provides a much simplified valving arrangement ofmodular form that is not subject to leakage and that is adaptable withgreat flexibility to any selective branching requirement, whileremaining readily subject to modification for enlarging or lessening thebranching selection andeasily accessible for maintenance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly described, the multiple valve module ofthe present invention comprises an elongate manifold presenting anexterior valve mounting surface and having a series of spaced flow portsopening laterally from the manifold through this surface, a valveseparately mounted on the manifold at each of a selected plurality ofthese flow ports, a blocking element separately mounted at any flowportat which a valve is not mounted, and means at the ends of the manifoldfor connecting it in a flow line or optionally in tandem with anothermodule.

By this arrangement a basic module can be formed having the number ofvalve positions that will serve best as a unit or in multiples toprovide the range of branching selection likely to be required for agiven purpose under varying conditions. lfa single module is more thanenough, the flow ports not needed are simply blocked off until such timeas they may be needed, while if more than a single module is needed oneor more additional modules can be coupled in tandem or in branchingfashion so as to enlarge the branching selection to any reasonableextent. A practical embodiment is illustrated and described by thedrawings indicated below and the specification that follows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of arepresentative selective branching arrangement incorporating a multiplevalve module according to the present inventlon;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an actual embodiment of the module;

FIG. 3 is a side view corresponding to FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a section detail taken substantially at the line 44 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a section detail taken substantially at the line 5-5 in FIG.2; and

FIG. 6 is an end view of the manifold employed in forming the module.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The FIG. 1 illustration diagramsa representative installation of a multiple valve module embodying thepresent invention. The module is indicated in broken outline at 10 ashaving twelve valve positions, nine of which are occupied by branch linevalves V, while the remaining three are blocked-off as at 12 and 14. Atone end the module 10is further indicated as being connected through avalve Vw to a water line and at the other through a flow meter and valveVs to a solution line.

Such an arrangement is suitable for feeding a chemical solutionselectively to a group of nine dyeing machines in measured amounts, thefeeding operation being conducted by opening a selected branch linevalve V together with the solution line valve Vs and allowing thechemical solution to feed until the flow g meter indicates the desiredamount has passed into the manifold 10, and then closing the valve Vsand opening the water line valve Vw to flush the manifold clear ofsolution followed by closing valve Vw and the open valve V to return allvalves to their normally closed condition. I

A similar arrangement can be employed in reverse so that the branch linevalves V are employed to feed selected chemical solutions through thesolution line to a single dyeing machine. As the branch line valves Vare separately positioned, automatic control of valve selection andsequence can be readily provided, more than one valve V can be selectedfor concurrent operation whenever desired for mixing purposes, and asmany modules 10 can be employed in tandem or branching fashion aspractical considerations allow.

The remaining FIGS. 2-6 of the drawings detail the structuralarrangement of an actual embodiment of the multiple valve module 10indicated in FIG. 1. In FIGS. 2 and 3 the module 10 is shown in plan andside elevation, respectively, as comprising a manifold 16 on which thepreviously mentioned branch line valves V are separately mounted inpairs at spaced positions lengthwise of the manifold. FIGS. 4 and 5 showthe manifold 16 as being formed compositely of side sections 18 betweenwhich top and bottom sections 20 are joined, as by welding, to providean interior flow channel of square cross section within a rectangularbody. Greater thickness of the side sections 18 makes the body ofmanifold 16 sufficiently rectangular to accommodate threaded bores forreceiving mounting bolts 22 by which the casings 24 of valves V are heldin place at circular flow ports 26 that are formed in the top and bottommanifold sections 20 to define a spaced series of valve positions.Reference to the top and bottom sections 20 should be recognized asidentifying only their illustrated position in the drawings and not inany way indicating that the modules 10 must be positioned in anyparticular way for effective use and operatio'n. Also, it should benoted that the body of manifold 16 can be comparably formed in otherways, as by employing an annular section and flatting the'same toprovide for valve mounting.

The valves V are preferably electro-pneumatically operated ball valvesof standard commercial form arranged as illustrated in FIG. 5 with thevalve casings 24 mounted directly on the manifold 16 together with aflange fitting 28 by which the branch lines (not shown) may be connectedtherewith. For such direct mounting, the manifold surfaces formed by theend faces of the side sections 18 and the exposed faces of the top andbottom sections 20 are shaped to correspond with the opposing surface ofthe valve casings 24. The simplest arrangement for this purpose is aflat manifold valve mounting surface and a corresponding flat valvecasing surface for mounting, as shown in FIG. 5, although any othercombination of corresponding or complementary surfaces might be used ifdesired. Ball valves V are preferred not only because they can beemployed readily in standard form as components of the module 10, butalso because they afford a positive shut-off and accordingly eliminateany need for auxiliary check valves in the lines they control.

The mounting bolts 22 that hold the flange fittings 28 and the valvecasings 24 in place on manifold 16 are also employed to secure pairs ofbrackets 30 and 32 provided to carry valve operating mechanisms 34adjacently with valve stems 36 extending therefrom through the casings24 to engage the enclosed valve balls 38. Because the illustratedmanifold 16 is formed with top and bottom valve mounting surfaces andwith flow ports 26 that are aligned in pairs at these surfaces, thepaired valves V are most conveniently mounted in reversed relation atthese flow ports, but it will be apparent that this reversed mountingrelation is not necessary, that the manifold 16 might be formedotherwise to present only one or more than two valve mounting surface orsurfaces, and that the valve mounting surface or surfaces need not becontinuous or rectilinear if there'is any reason to form them otherwise.

In the illustrated embodiment, which provides a flow channel of squarecross section within the manifold 16 that is of greater width than thediameter of the bore through the valve balls 38, it is advantageous toform the circular flow ports 26 with a taper from the flow channel widthto the ball bore diameter so as to avoid any pocket formations withinthe manifold 16 that are likely to make it difficult to flush cleanly.Such avoidance of pockets within the manifold 16 is desirable in anyevent, but this may also be done by minimizing the manifold wallthickness at the valve mounting surfaces, and it should be noted thatthe cross sectional shape of the manifold flow channel is immaterial solong as it has an area within the range of 0.25 to 25.0 times that ofthe valve ball bore so that flow therethrough can be maintained atreasonable rates and pressure and the size of the manifold remainspractical. I I

The previously mentioned blocking elements 12 employed at unoccupiedflow ports 26 are illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 as being formed by platemembers that are secured in place by suitable bolts 40, in place of thevalve mounting bolts 22, and are provided with suitable gasketing as at42. If an unoccupied flow port 26 occurs opposite one at which a valve Vis to be positioned, as diagramed at 14 in FIG. I, a spacer block (notshown) is added in place of the absent valve casing 24 and mountingbolts 22 are used so thatthe oppositely situated valve V can be mountedin the usual manner.

At its ends, each manifold 16 is fitted so that it may be connected in aflow line or in tandem with another manifold, or may be capped at oneend if a branching arrangement makes this necessary. For this purpose atransition structure is provided from the cross section of the manifoldflow channel to that of a pipe fitting. For the square cross section ofthe manifold flow channel in the illustrated embodiment, FIG. 6 showsthe transition structure as including a square tubing section 44 of thesame cross sectional size attached at each end of manifold 16 with around pipe-threaded section 46 attached at the projecting end thereof ina corresponding size to provide for connection at a suitable spacingfrom the manifold ends. If a standard pipe can be obtained in the sizerequired, it may be used to form the entire end fitting as a roundsection, but if the round section 46 must be made specially it willusually be best to employ the FIG. 6 arrangement because square tubingof the proper stock size is apt to be available.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a representative connection of one manifold endfitting to a water line valve Vw which is of the ball-type andcorresponds exactly with the manifold valves V except that it isprovided with flange fittings 28 at both sides of the valve casing 24and with a different form of mounting bracket 48 for carrying theoperating mechanism 34 from which the valve stem 36 extends to engagethe valve ball 38 within the casing 24. As shown, the round section 46of one of the manifold end fittings is installed in one of the flangefittings 28 of valve Vw while the other flange fitting 28 is availablefor connection of a water line (not shown) thereat. The other manifoldend fitting may be coupled in tandem with another module 10 or in anyconventional fashion to another flow line such as the solution lineindicated in FIG. 1. Additionally, a module 10 can be connected inbranching fashion in place of any one of the valves V, although it maybe desirable or necessary in such a case, or even in tandemarrangements, to employ modules 10 sized for different flow throughputsor capacities in order to balance the system properly.

In making single or tandem or branching connections of modules 10 forpractical use, it makes no difference whether the module or modules 10are disposed horizontally, vertically or inclined at any degree. Also,the multiple valve modules 10 of the present invention operate equallywell in pressurized and atmospheric systems. Because there are no movingparts within the manifold 16, and because the manifold valves V areseparately mounted and readily accessible, installation and maintenanceof the modules 10 are exceptionally simple in relation to otherselective branching arrange ments heretofore employed.

The present invention has beendescribed in detail above for purposes ofillustration onlyand is not intended to be limited by this descriptionor otherwise to exclude any variation or equivalent arrangement thatwould be apparent from, or reasonably suggested by, the foregoingdisclosure to the skill of the art.

We claim:

I. A multiple valve module comprising an elongate unitary manifoldhaving a series of spaced flow ports opening laterally therefrom,shut-off valve means separately mounted exteriorly on said manifold ateach of a selected plurality of said ports and selectively operable foropening and closing flow lines thereat,

with corresponding surface portions thereof disposed in face-to-facesealing relation at said manifold surface portions and with said valvehousing and said blocking elements located entirely outside of saidmanifold.

2. A multiple valve module as defined in claim 1 and furthercharacterized in that at least one of said separately mounted valvemeans is another valve module.

1. A multiple valve module comprising an elongate unitary manifoldhaving a series of spaced flow ports opening laterally therefrom,shut-off valve means separately mounted exteriorly on said manifold ateach of a selected plurality of said ports and selectively operable foropening and closing flow lines thereat, said valve means including ahousing enclosing a valve member, a blocking element separately mountedexteriorly on said manifold at any of said ports at which valve means isnot mounted, and means at the ends of said manifold for connecting thesame in a flow line or optionally in tandem with another module, themounting of said valve means and blocking elements being effected atexterior surface portions of said manifold surrounding each of saidlaterally opening flow ports and said valve means and blocking elementsbeing mounted with corresponding surface portions thereof disposed inface-to-face sealing relation at said manifold surface portions and withsaid valve housing and said blocking elements located entirely outsideof said manifold.
 2. A multiple valve module as defined in claim 1 andfurther characterized in that at least one of said separately mountedvalve means is another valve module.